The present invention relates to an air bag which is inflatable to restrain an occupant of a vehicle during a collision. More specifically, the present invention relates to folding an air bag in a manner to obtain controlled initial deployment of the air bag.
An air bag is typically folded and supported in the dashboard or steering wheel of a vehicle. Commonly, the air bag has a number of folds. When the air bag is to be inflated, high pressure gas is directed into the air bag which causes the air bag to unfold and inflate.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,748,477 discloses an air bag with most of the air bag disposed in a roll and a portion of the air bag disposed in a fold which extends across the roll. Upon initiation of inflation of the air bag, high pressure fluid is first directed into the fold to initially deploy the folded portion of the air bag. The rolled portion of the air bag is then unrolled as the air bag is inflated.